Raspberry Crumb Bars – Gluten-Free and Vegan

You’ll love these gluten-free vegan raspberry crumb bars filled with luscious raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. They’re so full of berry flavor! They’re great for a summer-time dessert to bring to your next party or even as a sweet treat for a weekend brunch. Trust me, you’ll wish you made a double batch because you won’t be able to eat just one! All you need is your favorite gluten-free flour blend, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, vanilla, dairy-free butter, gluten-free oats, brown sugar, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries to make this bakery-worthy gluten-free vegan dessert!

I’m LOVING all things berry right now. Raspberries and blueberries have taken a special place in my heart at the moment, but I’m just so excited to make and eat all sorts of recipes with various berries this summer. I was recently at a bakery with my friend Mary (she blogs over at Dancing with Lemonade) and saw these beautiful raspberry bars in the case. While I typically can’t (okay… never) eat anything from bakeries because of my celiac disease and dairy and egg intolerances, I still love going to them. I find it so inspiring to see what types of creations pastry chefs are coming up with and see all of the beautiful desserts. Anyways, while Mary was grabbing a cupcake the raspberry crumb bars caught my eye. I immediately told her I was going to go home and make some for myself!

Approximately one week and four batches later, these gluten-free vegan raspberry crumb bars were born! Don’t get me wrong, batch number one was still edible and tasty, it just wasn’t the raspberry crumb bar I was imagining in my head. I kept tweaking until I got something I am not only proud of but will continually make again and again!

These raspberry crumb bars are so tasty, you really wouldn’t know they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free! The raspberry layer is made from a combination of raspberry preserves and fresh raspberries and it is absolutely fabulous! A chewy bar with a sugar cookie crust made from molassey brown sugar, fresh and bright raspberry filling and sprinkled with a nutty topping.

It’s so simple to put together, too. My recipe doesn’t deal with first baking the crust, then the filling. Instead, we just assemble all of our layers and bake it all in one fell swoop. I find the bottom crust doesn’t get overbaked this way and stays nice and chewy, while sturdy enough to hold up to the filling.

To make this recipe EVEN EASIER, I made the bottom crust and the topping the same! All you have to do is reserve one cup of the bottom crust for the topping and mix it together with some certified gluten-free oats. While the oats aren’t completely necessary for the topping, I love the nuttiness that they bring to the dessert! However, if you don’t tolerate oats (even gluten-free certified oats), you can definitely leave them out and still have a great dessert.

Let’s Talk About Gluten-Free Oats

Technically, conventional oats do not contain gluten but they are highly subject to contamination with gluten in the fields and in the milling, storing and packaging processes. This makes them not safe for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Always buy certified gluten-free oats if you have celiac disease or are on a gluten-free diet. There are quite a few brands that offer gluten-free certified oats.

Still, come people who have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance are not able to tolerate certified gluten-free oats. If you cannot tolerate oats of any kind, do not use them in this recipe. You can simply leave them out.

Tips for Making Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Crumb Bars

You can use frozen berries in this recipe. Let them thaw and then mix them together with the jam. You can also replace the berries with more jam if fresh berries are not available in your area or are out of season.

If you want, you can use other berries, such as blueberries or blackberries for this recipe. Coordinate your jam or preserves with the type of berry you are using. You can also do a mixed berry version which would be delicious!

Mix together most of the berries with the raspberry jam. This will crush the raspberries a bit which is okay, you actually want that to happen. Place a few fresh berries on top of the jam for aesthetic purposes. It makes the crumb bars so pretty!

Do not cut into the raspberry crumb bars until they have completely cooled. You want the jam layer to be tacky to the touch so that they cut cleanly and the filling does not ooze out.

You can swap regular butter or coconut oil for the vegan butter used in this recipe.

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Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Crumb Bar Recipe

Whether you’re looking for a delicious gluten-free dessert recipe to bring to a summer soiree, serving Mother’s Day brunch, or just want a special weekend treat, this gluten-free vegan raspberry crumb bar recipe is for you! There is minimal preparation time and what results is a sweet bakery-worthy crumb bar full of summer flavor. Swoon.

Megan

You'll love these gluten-free vegan raspberry crumb bars filled with luscious raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. They're so full of berry flavor! They're great for a summer-time dessert to bring to your next party or even as a sweet treat for a weekend brunch.

Instructions

Reserve 1 cup of the crust for the topping. Press the remaining crust into a 9x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure your cooking spray does not contain flour which is not gluten-free.

Mix together 1 cup of the raspberries with your raspberry jam until the berries are completely covered with the jam. Some of the berries may get crushed but that's okay.

Carefully spread the raspberry mixture over the crust, leaving about 1/2 inch border around the sides. If you spread it all the way to the edges your bars will stick to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of raspberries over the jam.

Mix the reserved 1 cup of crust with 1/4 cup of gluten-free certified oats. Sprinkle the dough over the top of the raspberry filling.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 min, until raspberry filling is bubbling and crust is a golden brown. Let sit for at least an hour, until raspberry filling sets up completely before serving. Store in the refrigerator for best results.

Recipe Notes

*I used Earth Balance buttery sticks for this recipe, you can also use regular butter if you don't need it to be dairy-free.

Comments

I have a Raspberry bush and was looking for a way to use a bunch of berries. I do not eat gluten free all the time, but I sometimes take my treats to work and I have a friend who is gluten free. So I did an internet search and this popped up!

I loved this recipe. Mine turned out more like a crisp than bars, but I’m OK with that. I had to make substitutions because of what I had in the kitchen. I subbed coconut oil with a splash of butter, and strawberry preserves for the Raspberry preserves. I thought the strawberry preserves may have been a stroke of genius – sweet and a good compliment to the berries.

Next time I will try butter instead and I may spread the crust a little thinner. I discovered that the bars are hard for me to cut after being in the fridge.

So none of this dessert ever made it to work because my husband and I enjoyed it so much. This recipe is a keeper for sure!

Hi Reba, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a certified gluten-free jam brand before, but most brands are made with gluten-free ingredients. Bonne Maman is what I typically use since all of their products are gluten-free under 20ppm and they don’t appear to have any cross-contamination in their facilities either. Hope this helps!